Netanyahu Declares Open War on Yemen, Sana’a Responds With Millions Today Embracing the Challenge /  International and Regional Focus on Syrian Coast Events, Calls for Preserving Civil Peace

 December 27, 2024

The political editor wrote

The airstrikes carried out by the occupying entity’s forces on Sana’a and Hodeidah in Yemen coincided with the presence of UN delegations, resulting in injuries to some of their team members. These strikes come as an implementation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier announcement of a military campaign aimed at punishing Yemen for targeting the occupying entity’s heartland and the ships heading toward its shores. Netanyahu, along with other Israeli officials, stated that Yemen faces the fate of Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, with its leaders targeted for assassination, as was claimed to have occurred with leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar in Palestine, and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Such attacks on Yemen would continue until Yemen ceases its targeting of the entity initiated 14 months ago as a support front for Gaza.

In response, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of Ansar Allah, declared that Yemen is steadfast in its decision and will not alter its course. He called on the Yemeni people, who demonstrate every Friday in solidarity with Palestine and renew their commitment to supporting Gaza and its resistance, to prepare for the repercussions of Netanyahu’s declared open war on Yemen unmistakably clear today. Yemeni sources noted that Yemen has yet to deploy its full capabilities, which include the potential targeting of civilian and populated areas within the occupying entity, such as power stations, airports, gas platforms, and oil storage facilities, as well as American bases, warships, and oil tankers. Furthermore, Yemen could move to shut down the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, effectively halting global trade and oil commerce.

In the region, attention was drawn to the violent events along the Syrian coast and in parts of Homs, Damascus, and their rural areas, as well as rural Hama. These were triggered by protests involving thousands, following the circulation of a video showing armed groups attacking a religious shrine of the Alawite sect. Meanwhile, Damascus witnessed a massive demonstration in Christian neighborhoods condemning incidents that targeted Christmas celebrations in Hama. These events garnered significant international and regional attention, emphasising the need to preserve civil peace and coexistence among all segments of Syrian society. Calls were directed at the new authorities in Damascus to ensure the safety of all residents across Syria, regardless of sect or ethnicity, stressing that the image of the new regime depends on its approach to sectarian issues and its ability to defuse sectarian tensions threatening civil peace.

In Lebanon, the south once again became the center of attention as the occupying entity’s army escalated its violations of the ceasefire agreement to unprecedented levels, with an incursion into Wadi Al-Hujeir. Notably, this area had remained unentered during the 2006 July War until Israeli tanks exploded there. The incursion appeared to be a symbolic attempt at a revenge-driven “victory” image to erase the memory of the 2006 defeat. It also demonstrated the occupation’s disregard for the ceasefire agreement, treating the oversight committee as ineffectual, and showing contempt for both UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese army’s capacity to respond. This provocation has sparked widespread public and political anger, with Hezbollah leaders warning that such continued violations could lead to a shift in how the resistance responds to the increasingly blatant and repeated breaches of the ceasefire, which has remained little more than ink on paper.